BANG Showbiz English
Paul Mescal will play a “sexy” spy in an upcoming film.
The ‘Normal People' actor is to star as anti-hero Alec Milius in the movie ‘A Spy By Nature' – which is based on the best-selling spy novels by British author Charles Cumming.
The “morally ambivalent” character is a liar and in the film he ends up in the dirty and ruthless world of modern espionage as he sells secrets about oil in a former Soviet Republic.
‘A Spy By Nature' sees the loner graduate Milius recruited by MI6. He then decides that he doesn't want to be a government intelligence agent but ends up in mortal danger.
Director Kevin Macdonald praised Mescal's “beguiling mixture of intelligence, skill and youth”.
He is quoted by the Daily Mail newspaper as saying: “This is a modern spy story – sexy, dangerous, morally ambivalent – and only an actor of Paul's talent could pull it off.”
It is hoped that the film will mark the launch of a franchise if it proves to be a hit and the character has been compared to James Bond.
The script has been written by John Hodge – with a rewrite by Joseph Charlton – and is expected to head into production next year.
Paul stars in the movie ‘Aftersun' and revealed that he used a Scottish accent for the duration of filming to perfect the brogue of his character Calum in the movie from director Charlotte Wells.
The 26-year-old star said: “I stayed in accent for this throughout filming. It's something I've always wanted to do and Charlotte gave me her blessing.
“But going to the Edinburgh Film Festival for the British premiere of ‘Aftersun' made me nervous. It's like taking my accent into the lion's den.”
